Tag Archives: Mayor

Have you gotten your text from the Ben Hall campaign?

Posted on October 6, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Ben Hall campaign sent out this press release on Tuesday: The Ben Hall for Mayor campaign has launched a new initiative to reach Houston voters and communicate with them on a platform where they already spend a lot of … Continue reading →

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KHOU polls the Mayor’s race

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The first poll of the season is always exciting news. Annise Parker seems headed for a runoff in her campaign to keep her job, but she commands more than twice as many supporters as her leading challenger in a newly … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: SEIU and HAR

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This came in on Thursday: SEIU (Service Employees International Union) Texas, including janitors who clean office buildings, housekeeping workers at GRB and food service workers, have endorsed Mayor Annise Parker for re-election. Houston members have also launched an effort to … Continue reading →

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A deeper look at the city’s pension funds

Posted on September 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I appreciate this just-the-facts analysis of the city’s pension funds. It’s delightfully free of fearmongering and doomsaying, which tend to cloud most stories on the funds. I don’t have anything specific to say about the article, but I do want … Continue reading →

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We must destroy the pensions in order to save them

Posted on September 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

There’s so much wrong with this I almost don’t know where to begin. Houston is the Titanic – it certainly looks impressive, but icebergs lie ahead. That’s the image that mayoral candidate Ben Hall drew when he talked to the … Continue reading →

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The Mayor’s race in three numbers

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

1. Turnout In the 2009 runoff, there were 155,670 votes cast for Mayor. Annise Parker got 82,175 and Gene Locke got 73,495. In the 2011 general election, there were 118,414 votes cast for Mayor. Annise Parker got 60,135 and the … Continue reading →

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Hall’s five point crimefighting plan

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Houstonians do not feel safe in their homes and their communities. Houston’s crime numbers remain dangerously high and criminals are victimizing us daily. The only thing we hear from the Mayor’s office on this issue is silence. … Continue reading →

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How city candidates have voted in past primaries

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This is great to see. The Harris County Democratic Party does not endorse candidates in the non-partisan City of Houston elections; however, in an effort to keep you informed as to which candidates are Democrats and which are not, we … Continue reading →

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Just so we’re clear, cities don’t run the schools

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Lisa Falkenberg does some fact checking. Houston Mayoral Candidate Ben Hall seems to have done his homework before he began claiming that, if elected, he’d have statutory authority over local schools. But he apparently didn’t check his interpretation of the … Continue reading →

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The 2013 lineup

Posted on August 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

So many candidates. More than 60 candidates have filed to run for city of Houston elective office this fall, many of them rushing in before the 5 p.m. Monday deadline. […] Atop the ballot, [Mayor Annise] Parker is challenged by … Continue reading →

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Hall and the firefighters

Posted on August 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Ben Hall has the support of the firefighters’ union. He has also criticized Mayor Parker for not doing enough to deal with the financial stability of the pension funds. How does he reconcile these two seemingly contradictory positions? Not surprisingly, … Continue reading →

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What would Ben Hall do for schools?

Posted on August 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Ben Hall made his official filing for Mayor on Wednesday, and had a campaign rally after ward. This story is about that and about a new video his campaign released, and it contains three ways in which Hall says he … Continue reading →

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Interview with Roy Morales

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

As of my last At Large #3 interview, I reported that I had not yet been able to make arrangements with either Michael Kubosh or Roy Morales. I’m pleased to say now that both interviews have been completed; I have … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: GLBT Caucus and HSYD

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

We are entering the part of the election cycle where groups are making their endorsements. One of the first out of the box is the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, which held its endorsement meeting on Saturday night. Here’s their press … Continue reading →

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Chron wants multiple multi-candidate debates

Posted on August 7, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t know if they’ll get what they want, but it can’t hurt to ask. For the main show, mayoral candidate Ben Hall has called for six one-on-one debates with Mayor Annise Parker, albeit with three debates after early voting begins. … Continue reading →

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On PACs in city elections

Posted on August 6, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Houston Politics looks at something we haven’t seen much of in city elections – PACs that are candidate-specific instead of being centered on a referendum. Among the topics bandied about last week was why [Ben] Hall and District A candidate … Continue reading →

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Debating about debates

Posted on August 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

There will be some number of debates between Mayor Parker and Ben Hall between now and Election Day. How many debates, and how many participants there will be in those debates, is itself a matter of debate. In a letter … Continue reading →

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July finance reports for non-candidates

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Not everyone who files a finance report with the city is running for something this November. Term-limited incumbents, and former candidates who still have money in their campaign treasuries are required to file reports as well. Here’s a look a … Continue reading →

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A closer look at Mayoral campaign finances

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I said I’d get to a closer look at the Mayoral campaign finance reports later, after I had a chance to read all the way through them. That time is now, so let’s have our look. Mayor Parker’s finance report. … Continue reading →

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The Chron continues to rage against the pensions

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Hobby horse mounted, away we go! There is something particularly frustrating about municipal pensions, which are funded by the city but controlled by the state. This is a recipe for disaster, which can be seen in ballooning burdens to the … Continue reading →

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Mayoral finance reports for July

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s go to the press releases for the initial hype. Here’s Mayor Parker’s announcement of her fundraising haul for the July report. Houston Mayor Annise Parker has raised more than $2.2 million for her re-election campaign since February, with the … Continue reading →

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Mayoral multitude

Posted on July 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Campos has an update on who’s running for what. Commentary dropped by the City Secretary Office a couple of days ago to check out the latest campaign treasurer designations. Here is who I will add to my political page later … Continue reading →

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Eric Dick is just trolling us now

Posted on July 7, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Like a three-year-old having a tantrum – and against our better judgment – he gets the attention he so desperately seeks. Two City Council candidates facing thousands of dollars in fines for violating the city’s sign ordinance during their 2011 … Continue reading →

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What does the DOMA decision mean for Texas?

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, the day after the disappointing SCOTUS ruling on the Voting Rights Act, we got a much more heartening ruling on DOMA, declaring it to be unconstitutional. However, not all of DOMA was struck down. In a landmark Supreme … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: The firefighters still don’t like the Mayor

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, the Ben Hall campaign teased on its Facebook page that it was about to get a “game-changer” endorsement. This week, that endorsement was announced. The Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association announced they will be endorsing Ben Hall in … Continue reading →

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Midyear 2013 election update

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Back in January, I took an early look at the 2013 elections in Houston. At the request of the folks at the Burnt Orange Report, who also printed my initial overview, here’s an update on the races in the city … Continue reading →

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The 2013 Mayor’s race just got real, y’all

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Look who’s back: Need I mention that it was posted on the fence surrounding an empty lot? Look for other signs just like it on a utility pole near you. And be sure to tell anyone who wants to vote … Continue reading →

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Mayor Parker kicks off her campaign

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It’s the time of the season for Mayor Parker, who has a serious challenger this time, but also a stronger hand to play. In her tenure, Parker has given teeth to the city’s historic preservation rules, broken a deadlock with … Continue reading →

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Ben Hall’s tax problem

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Oops. A campaign video shows Ben Hall, the former city attorney who is now running for mayor, sitting in a classroom amid a group of schoolchildren as his voiceover talks about the importance of education. “Our children are our future,” … Continue reading →

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Tweet My Jobs Houston

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

On Friday, Mayor Parker delivered the State of the City 2013. Her address was heavy on accomplishments from the past year – there are a lot of them, and there is an election coming up – but there were also … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Planned Parenthood gets an early start

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox on Friday: Today the Board of Directors of the Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast ACTION FUND Inc, (PPGCAF) voted to endorse the following candidates for the November City Election. Each of the endorsed candidates has demonstrated a strong … Continue reading →

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On African-American turnout in city elections

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Bill King makes an observation about Ben Hall’s chances in the upcoming Mayoral election. When Lee Brown was elected mayor in 1997, many pundits predicted that with Houston’s growing minority community, Houston had seen its last white mayor. That, of … Continue reading →

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Hall makes his announcement

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Game on. Former Houston City Attorney Ben Hall formally launched his mayoral campaign against incumbent Annise Parker Wednesday night, decrying the burden of taxes and fees he said are driving city residents to the suburbs, and saying Houston’s mayor must … Continue reading →

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January finance reports for Houston offices

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Previously, I gave the July campaign finance numbers for Houston elected officials who are eligible for the ballot this fall. Here now are the cash on hand figures from the January reports, with all incumbents and a few assorted extras … Continue reading →

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